Friday, July 24, 2015

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Please, please, please – let’s end this week on a higher note than what we had yesterday.

Well, this was a good game – but I bet our champ wishes he had gone bigger on that Daily Double.

Scott Lord	Tracy McCarthy	Sam Suarez
13,600	13,800	14,400

Tonight’s Final Jeopardy! category is:

NATIONAL AIRLINES

Because the scores are so close, there aren’t many mind games.

First-order calculations

Second doubles up

If Tracy doubles her score, she’ll have 27,600.

To cover this all-in wager, Sam will need to wager 13,200.

Scott		Tracy		Sam
13,600		13,800		14,400
		13,800		13,200
		27,600		27,600
min	max	min	max	min	max
				13,200

An incorrect response with that wager will leave Sam with 1,200.

To stay above his total, Tracy can wager up to 12,600.

Scott can wager up to 12,400.

Scott		Tracy		Sam
13,600		13,800		14,400
12,400		12,600		13,200
1,200		1,200		1,200
min	max	min	max	min	max
	12,400		12,600	13,200

Third doubles up

A successful doubling will put Scott at 27,200.

To cover this, Tracy should wager at least 13,400. In this case, though, she will lose on an incorrect response, so she might as well wager everything.

No point in Sam going for 12,800 with Tracy possibly going all in.

Scott		Tracy		Sam
13,600		13,800		14,400
13,600		13,400		12,800
27,200		27,200		27,200
min	max	min	max	min	max
	12,400	13,400*		13,200
			12,600

 

And without the mind games, we head straight for the zero-cover wagers:

Score differences:
Sam and Tracy: 600
Sam and Scott: 800
Tracy and Scott: 200

Scott		Tracy		Sam
13,600		13,800		14,400
FIRST-ORDER		SECOND-ORDER		COVER ZERO
min	max	min	max	min	max
1,600	12,400	13,400*		13,200
800			12,600

What actually happened

Scott		Tracy		Sam
13,600		13,800		14,400
1,000		13,800		14,000
14,600		0		400
min	max	min	max	min	max
1,601	12,399	13,800		13,201	13,999
801			12,599

Sam’s wager is fine; if Tracy goes for the bare-minimum $13,401 wager, he’ll win by a dollar.

This clue was easy for New Yorkers, who saw ads for this offer constantly in the subway.

Scott swept the week (and every Final Jeopardy! clue) and has racked up $108,002. Congrats – and see you Monday!

The Final Jeopardy! clue

NATIONAL AIRLINES

THIS SMALL LAND’S AIRLINE ADVERTISES A “STOPOVER”: 7 NIGHTS AT NO EXTRA TRAVEL CHARGE TO BREAK UP A BOSTON-BRUSSELS TRIP

[spoiler]What is Iceland?[/spoiler]

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